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Authors: Jayne Ann Krentz
Tags: Contemporary Romance
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relationship.
Relationship. The very word made her nervous and fretful, Verity decided that evening as she and Jonas closed the cafe. She didn't think that what she and Jonas had at that point qualified as a relationship, and, as far as she could tell, Jonas seemed not to be worrying about the issue at all. In typical male fashion, he appeared blithely unaware of all the soul-wrenching questions that were plaguing her. That annoyed Verity.
She told herself that any man who remained oblivious to the agonizing uncertainty in which she was mired was certainly not a sensitive enough male to interest her. Unfortunately, Verity was intelligent enough to know she was lying to herself. Brains could be a great curse.
But Tuesday brought an unexpected event. Laura called late that afternoon.
"Verity? I want to make reservations for three. Rick and I have a special guest staying at the spa and we want to take her to dinner at your place. Any problem?"
"Nope. I'll put you down for seven. How's that?" Verity opened her reservation book and jotted a note. "Sounds fine. You'll want to meet our guest, Verity."
"Who is it?"
"Caitlin Evanger." Laura waited for recognition to hit. "The Caitlin Evanger? Caitlin Evanger, the artist?" "One and the same," Laura affirmed proudly. Verity was entranced. "I heard she was a total recluse."
"She is. She's got some physical problems. Apparently she was in a serious car accident years ago and never fully recovered. She came to Sequence Springs to take the waters, as they say in Europe."
"I'll be thrilled to meet her," Verity declared, aware of Jonas listening in on the conversation as he moved around the dining room setting up tables.
"Don't make a big deal out of it," Laura warned. "She hates attention."
"Don't worry. I'll try not to embarrass you with a lot of fawning and groveling. See you at seven, Laura." Verity hung up the phone and grinned at Jonas. "How about that? We're going to be feeding a famous artist this evening. Caitlin Evanger. Ever hear of her?"
"I think so." Jonas folded a napkin with great precision and placed it properly on the table. "The name is vaguely familiar. I don't think I've ever seen any of her work, though."
"I have," Verity declared enthusiastically. "There was an exhibition of her stuff a few months ago in San Francisco. I went to see it. Her paintings are absolutely fascinating, Jonas. There's this incredible, hard edge to them and yet they're not cold or lifeless. You can almost feel the passion under the surface, but
you get the impression that it's a very dangerous passion and therefore it's overlaid with this amazing sense of discipline, if you know what I mean."
Jonas cocked one brow and gave her an odd look. "I think I know what you mean."
Verity felt a slow warmth rising in her cheeks. She wasn't certain she wanted to analyze Jonas's glance. It seemed safer to change the subject. "Good grief, I wonder if I'd better rethink the dinner menu. Maybe I should substitute orange and jicama salad for the carrots in dill sauce. Carrots are so ordinary."
"The way you do carrots in dill is anything but ordinary," Jonas said brusquely. "Don't worry about the menu for tonight. I'm sure your celebrity guest will be able to find something on it to suit her."
Verity gnawed thoughtfully on her lower lip. "Do you really think so?"
"Tell you what. If she doesn't like what she sees on your list of specials, I'll run into town and get her a hamburger."
"Sometimes your sense of humor leaves a lot to be desired, Jonas."
*
*
*
At five minutes after seven that evening, Jonas found himself seating Rick and Laura Griswald and their guest, Caitlin Evanger. He had met Rick on Monday and liked him. Griswald was about Jonas's age, with thinning hair and an easygoing smile, although tonight the smile seemed a bit forced. He kept himself in good shape and had the kind of outgoing personality that resort managers need. It was obvious
Relationship. The very word made her nervous and fretful, Verity decided that evening as she and Jonas closed the cafe. She didn't think that what she and Jonas had at that point qualified as a relationship, and, as far as she could tell, Jonas seemed not to be worrying about the issue at all. In typical male fashion, he appeared blithely unaware of all the soul-wrenching questions that were plaguing her. That annoyed Verity.
She told herself that any man who remained oblivious to the agonizing uncertainty in which she was mired was certainly not a sensitive enough male to interest her. Unfortunately, Verity was intelligent enough to know she was lying to herself. Brains could be a great curse.
But Tuesday brought an unexpected event. Laura called late that afternoon.
"Verity? I want to make reservations for three. Rick and I have a special guest staying at the spa and we want to take her to dinner at your place. Any problem?"
"Nope. I'll put you down for seven. How's that?" Verity opened her reservation book and jotted a note. "Sounds fine. You'll want to meet our guest, Verity."
"Who is it?"
"Caitlin Evanger." Laura waited for recognition to hit. "The Caitlin Evanger? Caitlin Evanger, the artist?" "One and the same," Laura affirmed proudly. Verity was entranced. "I heard she was a total recluse."
"She is. She's got some physical problems. Apparently she was in a serious car accident years ago and never fully recovered. She came to Sequence Springs to take the waters, as they say in Europe."
"I'll be thrilled to meet her," Verity declared, aware of Jonas listening in on the conversation as he moved around the dining room setting up tables.
"Don't make a big deal out of it," Laura warned. "She hates attention."
"Don't worry. I'll try not to embarrass you with a lot of fawning and groveling. See you at seven, Laura." Verity hung up the phone and grinned at Jonas. "How about that? We're going to be feeding a famous artist this evening. Caitlin Evanger. Ever hear of her?"
"I think so." Jonas folded a napkin with great precision and placed it properly on the table. "The name is vaguely familiar. I don't think I've ever seen any of her work, though."
"I have," Verity declared enthusiastically. "There was an exhibition of her stuff a few months ago in San Francisco. I went to see it. Her paintings are absolutely fascinating, Jonas. There's this incredible, hard edge to them and yet they're not cold or lifeless. You can almost feel the passion under the surface, but
you get the impression that it's a very dangerous passion and therefore it's overlaid with this amazing sense of discipline, if you know what I mean."
Jonas cocked one brow and gave her an odd look. "I think I know what you mean."
Verity felt a slow warmth rising in her cheeks. She wasn't certain she wanted to analyze Jonas's glance. It seemed safer to change the subject. "Good grief, I wonder if I'd better rethink the dinner menu. Maybe I should substitute orange and jicama salad for the carrots in dill sauce. Carrots are so ordinary."
"The way you do carrots in dill is anything but ordinary," Jonas said brusquely. "Don't worry about the menu for tonight. I'm sure your celebrity guest will be able to find something on it to suit her."
Verity gnawed thoughtfully on her lower lip. "Do you really think so?"
"Tell you what. If she doesn't like what she sees on your list of specials, I'll run into town and get her a hamburger."
"Sometimes your sense of humor leaves a lot to be desired, Jonas."
*
*
*
At five minutes after seven that evening, Jonas found himself seating Rick and Laura Griswald and their guest, Caitlin Evanger. He had met Rick on Monday and liked him. Griswald was about Jonas's age, with thinning hair and an easygoing smile, although tonight the smile seemed a bit forced. He kept himself in good shape and had the kind of outgoing personality that resort managers need. It was obvious
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